ITPG Charter

Purpose

Through broad campus cooperation, coordination, and consultation, the Information Technology Planning Group provides a campus forum for Information Technology planning, identification of technology needs, and collaborative assessment of new technologies and technology project feasibility.

Background

In 1998 the Campus Network Committee (CNC) examined the Information Technology landscape on campus and provided a series of recommendations to the Senior Officers in a memo entitled "The Organization of Information Technology Services."1 Among its recommendations was that of the formation of an Information Technology Planning Group:

Establish an Information Technology Planning Group This group should consist of technical staff from throughout the campus, and should serve as the technical support staff for the Information Technology Board. It should examine the feasibility of proposals being considered by the Information Technology Board, and provide information regarding technological developments and campus needs. It would also serve as a platform for coordinating work on specific projects. The Planning Group should be chaired by the Director of the Office of Information Technology and co-chaired by the Director of Information Systems & Computing. The successes of the Campus Network Committee have come about because it has been able to obtain the input and cooperative efforts of the most knowledgeable technical staff on campus. The creation of an Information Technology Planning Group would guarantee that the campus would continue to benefit from such cooperative efforts. Because of the scarcity and high cost of technical staff, it is essential that UCSB continue to take advantage of the expertise of those employed by individual units in addressing campus-wide issues.

These recommendations were adopted by the Senior Officers. And in October 1998 the ITPG was convened and entrusted with the responsibilities for applying more effort to "planning and to the identification of [Information Technology] areas that require greater attention."2

In October 2005 a subcommittee of the Chancellor's Coordinating Committee on Budget Strategy, working with key Information Technology (IT) staff, developed a plan for reorganizing and consolidating IT functions on campus:

A new Associate Vice Chancellor-level position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) has been established. The CIO will report to the Executive Vice Chancellor and head a new Office of Information Systems and Technology. The CIO will work with the new Information Technology Board (ITB), consisting of the Senior Officers, to set campus-wide IT policies, priorities and budget allocations. Initially, a major task for the CIO and the ITB will be to flesh out and direct the reorganization and consolidation efforts. The CIO and the ITB will be advised by the current Information Technology Planning Group (ITPG), as well as the two new committees charged with evaluating specific aspects of the campus computing environment: an Academic Technology Planning Group [ATPG] and an Enterprise Information Systems Planning Group [EISPG].3

In Spring 2006 the campus began the recruitment process for a Chief Information Officer (CIO), and in August 2007 the position was filled, and the Office of Information Systems and Technology was created.

Since its creation, the ITPG's role, goals, and operation have continued to evolve as the IT organization on campus has evolved. In 2009, a working group of the ITPG convened to examine the functions of the ITPG leadership. It identified three primary responsibilities for the ITPG leadership positions: Representation to the Information Technology Board (ITB); Executive/Administrative functions; Communications with members and the campus. The working group recommended that a Chair and Vice-Chair should be established to replace the previous co-chair structure, and that these positions should be filled by election from the ITPG membership at-large. In July 2009, the ITPG also consolidated the efforts of the working group, previous documents, and discussions to create this charter document.

Goals of the ITPG

Provide technical insight and resources to the Information Technology Board, the CIO, and the campus at large, assessing the feasibility of proposals being considered, and providing information regarding technological developments and campus technology needs and priorities.

Serve as a platform for coordinating work on specific technology projects.

Provide a forum to the campus technical community for consultation and communication.

Leverage the collective talents, skills, and experience of a diverse technology community.

Assist in representing or identifying technology customers so that their needs are represented in technology initiatives.

Organization of the ITPG

Membership – Membership of the ITPG is open to the campus Information Technology community.

Voting – for actions requiring a vote, such as elections, any member may vote. Members are expected to assess that their level of subcommittee participation allows them to make an informed decision.

Officers

Chair – The ITPG Communications Subcommittee Chair is expected to provide the following functions:

ITPG Executive Functions

Chair meetings, facilitate discussions, encourage participation.

Cause meeting agendas and minutes to be prepared as required.

Provide management and oversight of subcommittee efforts, helping to ensure that subcommittee and ITPG efforts are aligned.

Attend and report upon meetings of other campus technology and planning groups.

Representation to the ITB

Represent ITPG opinions to the ITB: either by referencing existing position papers or bringing topics back to the ITPG for discussion and response.

Present majority and minority reports when appropriate.

Bring issue-champions to the ITB for direct presentations on specific issues.

In ITB discussions, represent the diverse academic and administrative views of the campus IT community with the understanding that any issues discussed will be reported back to the ITPG members for discussion and potentially more formal comment back to the ITB.

Communications

Promote the communications and collaboration goals of the ITPG.

Provide informational updates to members via electronic communication in advance of meetings.

Vice-Chair – The ITPG Vice-Chair is expected to:

Fulfill the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair.

Attend, with the Chair, campus ITB meetings.

Assist in the above duties in order to prepare for the role of Chair.

Terms – The term for the Chair and Vice-Chair positions are each one year. At the termination of the Chair's term, the Vice-Chair becomes the Chair for the following term. Elections are performed annually to fill the position of Vice-Chair. In the event that the Chair vacates the position before the natural end of the term, the Vice-Chair will serve the remainder of that term, and the subsequent year. Members may be re-elected an indefinite number of terms.

Desired Characteristics of Officers

Should be an active participant in the ITPG.

Should reflect the diversity of campus technology environments represented by the ITPG membership.

Should not be a direct report to an ITB member.

Both officers should not be part of the same organization. That is, they should have a different Control Point or Dean.

Should receive an approval from their department for the required commitment of time.

Should have integrity and ability to represent a viewpoint of the ITPG which may differ from their personal viewpoint.

Should have enthusiasm for the leadership role.

Nomination – Candidates to fill the position of Vice-Chair shall be presented to the ITPG by a nomination committee composed of the Chair and 3 members who are representative of a diversity of constituencies. ITPG members may submit themselves for consideration, a member may submit another member, and the nomination committee may solicit candidates. Members who wish to be considered as a candidate must submit and present a brief statement of their qualifications, how they would approach the ITPG leadership role, and an assurance that their supervisor or department would approve the commitment of time required. The schedule for the nominations and Election should be:

The Vice-Chair will lead and announce the nomination committee at the April meeting

The open call for nominations should be made at the May meeting

Candidates should provide a preliminary indication of interest prior to June 1st to allow the nomination committee to solicit additional candidates if necessary. This should be submitted to the Vice-Chair.

Written Candidate statements must be submitted to the Vice-Chair prior to the day, one week before the June meeting, to allow these to be distributed to members one week prior to the meeting.

Candidate presentations are made to the members at the June meeting.

Election Election for the Vice-Chair shall be conducted by secret ballot at the regularly scheduled July ITPG meeting. Absentee votes may be sent by electronic mail to the Vice-Chair, or delegate prior to midnight (00:00) of the day of the election. In the event of a tie vote, a run-off vote will be conducted. This vote will not include absentee ballots.

ITPG Meetings

Meeting Schedule – Meetings shall be held on a regular monthly basis or as necessary.

Meeting Agenda – The Chair, or staff to the ITPG, shall prepare an agenda of meeting items submitted by members, the ITB, or other campus constituencies. Standing agenda items should include member announcements, subcommittee reports, and a report from the CIO. Agendas shall generally be disseminated at least 3 business days prior to a regularly scheduled meeting. Though earlier notice is preferred, topics not requiring an ITPG action may be added to the agenda at the time of the meeting.

Meeting Minutes – The Chair shall cause meeting minutes to be prepared and distributed or made available prior to the next scheduled meeting.

Subcommittees

The ITPG officers or members may create standing or limited subcommittees or workgroups to perform activities within its purview. Subcommittees should:

Be provided or provide a stated charter or purpose.

Appoint a liaison to the ITPG to provide communications between the ITPG and the subcommittee.

Provide regular reports to the ITPG membership on the activities and issues of the committee.

At the conclusion of their efforts, provide a document of their findings to the ITPG.

Coordination and Communication Goals

Members are encouraged to provide announcements of technology events, activities, issues, and staffing changes, and to submit issues for group consideration or research, and topics for presentations.

Efforts should be made to recruit liaisons with other campus technology, planning, and student groups. These liaisons should be encouraged to provide regular reports on those groups' activities.

Efforts should be made to maximize the use of technologies to provide collaborative tools for maximizing the dissemination and benefit of the efforts of the ITPG and its subcommittees.

ITPG Agendas, minutes, records, resources, and work products should be readily available online.

This Charter document should be reviewed annually in April by the Membership to ensure that the goals and procedures continue to serve the campus and the ITPG constituencies.

The Chair, in consultation with ITPG members, should produce an annual report of the activites and avhievements which should be presented to the ITB at their June meeting.